Movie of the Day – Coven

by • Animated Gif, Awesome Stuff, Movie of the Day, Movies • Tags: 8 mm, american movie, black and white, coven, dutch angles, horror, mark borchardt, mike schank, robert richard jorge, short movie, witches

"Coven sounds like oven, man"

From Coven (from the American Movie special features) – Buy it here

Coven is a short film by writer/director Mark Borchardt.  Fans of the documentary American Movie, know all about Mark’s struggles to finish his short film.  Added as an extra on the DVD of American Movie, Coven is surprisingly not that bad.  I have to give Mark credit for following his vision all the way through.    It has its issues such as the title “sounding like oven, man“, but let’s go through some reasons why Coven deserves a watch:

  • The opening titles and the shots of the scarecrows on that “killer slant”.
  • “It’s all right, it’s okay, you have something to live for.  Jesus told me so!”
  • The introduction to the character of Mike and his struggles with writing.  “I ain’t got shit!  I’m smoking lites right now!“
  • The soundtrack is decent.  It reminds me of Goblin’s soundtrack to Dawn of the Dead.
  • The overuse of dutch angles.
  • Mike Schank and everything that comes out of his mouth.  “I used to get busted a lot for going into my day program drunk so I went in there on three hits of acid just to prove them wrong. “
  • Mike sneaking a drink during his first group meeting.  “God helps those who help themselves, man…“
  • Robert Richard Jorge.  He is a combination of James Lipton and Brian Blessed, and he sounds just like Dr. Orpheus from The Venture Brothers.
  • The numerous changes in continuity throughout the short.  Most noticeably Mike’s hair and how it grows inches at random.
  • The overacting on display during Mike’s second group meeting.  It’s glorious.  “I tried to kill myself twice!  So as you can imagine I hate my life!!!“
  • The bartender and his amazing slap.
  • The way this woman smokes throughout the movie.  It’s just so awkward. Also, she reminds me of Hatchet-Face from Cry-Baby.
  • And of course: the end scene in the kitchen.  If you watched American Movie you know the “breakaway” cabinet didn’t go as planned.

 

As an added bonus, here is Coven in all of its glory.